Herman's Hermits landed in Hollywood in 1965 in the MGM "let's put on a show" musical When the Boys Meet the Girls. In this first feature film appearance, the band shared the stage with musical legends like Liberace and Louis Armstrong, performing two songs in what was basically a cameo. But in Hold On! (1966), the group's second movie, Herman's Hermits took center stage.

Following on the heels of the Beatles' success in Help!(1965), the plot for Hold On! is campy to say the least. The story follows Herman's Hermits on a U.S. tour, accompanied by a NASA scientist who's trying to decide if the band is worthy of having a space capsule named after it. Originally titled There's No Place Like Space, the film featured eleven Hermits songs, including A Must to Avoid, written by American songwriters P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri directly for the movie. A Must to Avoid peaked at number eight on the U.S. charts. Another song from Hold On!, Just a Little Bit Better, did exactly that - it hit number seven on the charts. The band always had more success in America than at home in England. In 1965 alone, Herman's Hermits had seven new songs on the U.S.' Hot 100 chart.

But the Hermits weren't the only Hold On! cast members with a hit record. Shelley Fabares, who played Herman's (Peter Noone) love interest, had two Top 40 hits, including a number-one record in 1962. While appearing as Mary Stone on TV's popular The Donna Reed Show, Fabares was asked by producers to record several songs. Despite her musical genes (Fabares' aunt is Broadway and film actress Nanette Fabares, best known on screen for her role in 1953's The Band Wagon ), Shelley initially scoffed at the idea of singing. But her first song, Johnny Angel, went to the top of the charts and was worked into an episode of the show. Another song, Johnny Loves Me, hit the charts as well, peaking at number 21. Fabares took to the musical genre after that, appearing with Elvis in Girl Happy (1965) a year before Hold On!. She would team up with the King again for two more movies: Spinout (1966) and Clambake(1967).

And Herman's Hermits would follow Hold On! with a third and final film, Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter (1968), a title lifted from the group's first number-one single.

Producer: Sam Katzman
Director: Arthur Lubin
Screenplay: James B. Gordon
Cinematography: Nicolas Vogel
Editing: Ben Lewis
Art Direction: George W. Davis, Eddie Imazu
Music: Steve Barri, Fred Karger, P.F. Sloan, Sid Wayne, Ben Weisman
Cast: Peter Noone (Herman), Shelley Fabares (Louisa), Bernard Fox (Dudley), Sue Ane Langdon (Cecilie), Herbert Anderson (Lindquist), Phil Arnold (Photographer), Mickey Deems (Publicist), Hortense Petra (Mrs. Page).
C-87m. Letterboxed.

by Stephanie Thames